


Monsters among men

by Laughingvirus



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Monster Hunters, Angst, Basically I took the kingdom intro and made this au, Blood and Gore, Found Family, Gen, Gotta tag the angst, Nothing is overly graphic but its there, Sorry but they have sad backstories, Tags Are Just To Be Safe, Violence, not too much but its mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 23:36:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29865786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laughingvirus/pseuds/Laughingvirus
Summary: Chan lives an eternal life, and along the way he finds his family.
Relationships: Everyone & Everyone
Comments: 18
Kudos: 107





	Monsters among men

Chan never wanted anything but to protect people. 

Ever since he was young, he had been the protector. He protected his younger siblings, and when he grew older, he protected his parents too. Growing up in the country, outside the safety of city walls, taught him that threats were all around them, especially when they had things such as valuables and livestock. But as he grew, he realized that the threat was becoming too great, and he was too weak to stand against it.

At first he only worried about the bands of thieves that roamed the countryside, lawless and marked for life by cities who never wanted to see their faces.

But then came the shadows, and after that… the monsters.

There had been a shift in the air, and suddenly everything was just more. The grass was greener, the water bluer, the honey smelled sweeter, and the lemons tasted even more sour.

 _‘It’s magic,’_ his mother had whispered. Magic wasn’t new to the world, but it had never been this much before. His mother had been sensitive to magic, genes she had passed onto him, but she had never been able to use any magic herself. Maybe that had been because the world didn’t always bathe in magic as it did now.

With the arrival of magic soaking into everything in this world, things changed. Mostly for the better, but just like everything good was made stronger, so was the bad. Magic twisted ugly emotions into something far more evil; it changed those who experienced rage, it cracked their bones and twisted their forms until they were nothing but hungry beasts.

And Chan could do nothing to protect his family from that.

He had still been young, not even in his mid-twenties, when it happened. The clouds had lingered on the sky for weeks, and the stench of the nearby swamp was growing stronger and stronger every day. Chan had been alarmed, so had his mother, but their neighbors had shrugged it off. And even if their family had been worried, there was nothing they could do. They couldn’t simply just pack their things and leave; they didn’t have the money for that.

So they had remained at their small farm.

Chan had been on edge, so he had stayed up to watch over their livestock as they grazed in the humid summer night. His trusted bow and arrow rested at his side, providing him some kind of comfort. If a thief snuck up to attempt to steal livestock he could at least chase them away.

But what arrived wasn’t some simple thief.

What arrived could only be described as monsters. Dark forms in the night, large and hulking. Some of the monsters were smaller, more nimble than their larger companions. They moved on two legs, their steps leaving behind an inky, tar like substance on the ground. Their arms were long enough to scrape the ground if they hung to their side, large claws glimmering in the faint moonlight.

What would haunt Chan through the rest of his existence was their eyes; their green, piercing eyes. They didn’t have two eyes like humans, they had multiple eyes, in cracks all over their bodies, on their ribs, arms, legs, backs, chest; they had eyes everywhere.

To this day, Chan still remembers the chorus of screeching voices as the monsters attacked his family.

_Watching._

Chan had fought with what he had that day. He had abandoned his bow and arrow, grabbing for a rusty sword instead, and while he wasn’t a skilled swordsman, he quickly figured out how the monsters operated. They relied almost entirely on brute strength and little on actual strategy. They attacked head first and he realized that if he just kept his cool for a moment longer than them, he could get an advantage.

When the storm had passed, Chan didn’t even dare to breathe. He was bleeding from his right, hollow eye socket, his body almost too weak to stand up, but he forced himself into the remains of the house. Not much of the house was still standing, and he had little hope to find his family alive. Yet, sorrow consumed him as he found their mangled corpses.

He should have died along with them. Why was he trying to protect them when he knew he was too weak?

When he had had no tears left to cry, he stood up again and walked out of the ruins on shaky legs. He didn’t make it far from the house until he collapsed, his bony knees hitting soft, blood soaked ground among the remains of monsters. They bled too, but their blood was thicker than human blood and a dark, poisonous green color. Among the carnage he saw something; something bright green that called to him, beckoning him closer. He moved closer, reaching out to push the arm of a monster away to see what it was.

It was an eye.

Chan inhaled sharply, reaching out for the eye. It was cold to the touch, smooth and hard like a rock. As he brushed his thumb over it, the screeching chorus of voices filled his head again.

_Power._

He looked back to the ruins of his once home. He had failed to protect his family because he was weak. If he wanted to protect people, he needed power. A lot of power. His eyes fell on the eye again. He gritted his teeth, and gathered the courage. He pushed the eye into his hollow socket, allowing the monster part to become a part of him.

Allowing himself to become a monster.

He had screamed when the process began. The screeching voices filled his head once again, but this time he couldn’t make out what they said. His body was on fire, and he closed his eyes as he felt the power swell within him. Something had changed, but back then he didn’t know exactly what; but he quickly understood what had happened to him.

That was the moment when he had died as a human, and been reborn as a monster.

  
  
  


  
  
  
  


As he walked the world for the coming decades, Chan became known by many names.

_Monster, abomination, beast, the demon of the fallen, freak, monstrosity, fiend. Monster of Aurum._

He didn’t mind. None of them were exactly wrong, so he didn’t bother them. He had one purpose in life, and it was to protect those weaker than him against the monsters. He traveled through kingdoms, in an endless game of tag with these forces of evil. Wherever evil laid in the human heart, magic found a way to twist it; and where the twisted ones were, bringing chaos to peaceful communities, Chan followed.

Soon enough, he made a new name for himself.

Monster hunter, and soon enough it was changed into what he was known by in this day and age; blood hunter.

Born from the blood of the very monsters he sought, he could always track them down; he knew their strengths and weaknesses, and while they had been stripped of all their humanity, he still had some of it left and that gave him an advantage.

Despite doing nothing but helping humans, their animosity to Chan never ceased. He was something that they simply didn’t understand. He was part monster, his eyes a clear give away the moment he met someone. At first his eyes weren’t too odd, just one blue and one brown; that happened to humans too sometimes so it wasn’t too out of the ordinary. But when the darkness fell, the true nature of what he was began to seep out, his eyes turning a poisonous green and everything about him became so much more.

Over the years and years that passed, Chan grew passive. He didn’t care if humans offered him nothing but the cold shoulder. As the world around him aged, he found himself frozen in time. If humans showed him compassion he was scared that he might grow attached to them, and he wasn’t sure if he could handle losing them to time. Time was an enemy he could not defeat.

He wouldn’t complain. He was content enough with his current situation, even if he ended up returning to whatever ratty tavern he had rented for the night covered in monster blood and gore. Humans mostly left him to his own, some asking a question or two, and they paid him well enough for his deeds. He’d preferred if there was no money involved, because it always made it seem like he was out for the money when he wasn’t, but he also lived in a world where living cost money, He didn’t have much of a choice but to require payment for his services.

The next town he went to had a problem with monsters, just like all the previous towns he’d been to. But as he stepped foot into the town, he could tell that something would be different this time. And when he looked back at this moment in his life, he smiled.

After all, this would be the first time he met someone of his own kin.

  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  


Whispers had reached his ears when he entered the tavern to inquire about the monster nearby. He wasn’t the only half-man half-monster who had stepped foot in this town. That had made him curious, as he had never heard of others of his kin this close.

Once he had heard rumors about a noble family, and how they were slaughtered in a situation all too similar to Chan’s family. It was said that the eldest son had tried to protect his family, but when he failed and was the only survivor of the attack, the guilt and grief had driven the son mad and he had carved out the heart of one of the monsters and eaten it. Chan had traveled to see if the rumors were true, and he wouldn’t deny that there had been the tiniest sliver of hope in his chest to find someone like him. But it had been futile, and he had felt silly for even holding onto hope. He was never meant to have hope, he was destined for eternal mourning and loneliness.

“They left two days ago,” the old woman behind the counter said, offering Chan some unexpected and rare kindness as she placed a warm meal in front of him.

“There are two of them?” Chan asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh yes,” the woman said, nodding her head to herself. “They were discussing whether or not to help out.” She pursed her lips. “From the reports, the monsters seem to multiply by every passing night. The threat is big, but I can see why they hesitated to agree on this.”

“Do you know where the monsters are?”

“There is a swamp, about four hours travel north from here,” the woman replied and Chan hummed, taking a bit of his food. It was good to eat something warm again. “The town guards tracked them there. So it seems like that is their… home so to speak.”

Chan had thanked the woman for the information, and after finishing his food, he had left. The fall of night didn’t bother him, he was as much of a creature of night as the monsters were. They were on equal terms.

It didn’t take him long to catch the stench of the monsters, and it didn’t take much longer until he began to see signs of them. Trees along the road were ripped out of the ground, snapped in the middle and tossed to the side like twigs. Large splatters of blood covered the ground, but he saw no bodies. Only gore, blood and the marks of bodies being dragged on the soft dirt road.

Chan had paused. He stared at the crushed wagon, and the large pool of blood from where the horse should have been tied to it. He gritted his teeth, the realization settling in. He was heading into a nest of monsters. Nests were rare, but oh so dangerous. Chan had dealt with a nest of monsters before, and had it not been for the mage he had been so lucky to have met, he may not have survived that.

It made sense for the two other blood hunters to have considered not taking this job.

The wise choice would be to turn back and find a mage to deal with this issue, now when it had been identified. But something in Chan made him continue ahead. If the blood hunters had left two days ago and no one had heard from them since, something may have happened to them. There was this feeling that Chan couldn’t quite place, that pulled him towards the swamp. The blood hunters were his kin. He had never met someone like himself, and he longed for the sense of belonging.

It was silly of him to wish for something like companionship from a fellow blood hunter, let alone people he had never even interacted with. But he had been alone for so long, he wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to keep his mind sane.

Even if nothing came out of this, he needed to make sure the blood hunters weren’t ripped to shreds by the monsters in the nest.

The closer he got, the more blood and gore he saw, the more he prayed that he wouldn’t see anything that indicated that the hunters had been here.

And yet again, in his long, long life, Chan was disappointed. Because as he entered the nest, the first thing he saw was a fellow blood hunter. Still alive, but clearly in a very bad situation. His eyes were glowing green, just like Chan’s did when he used his power, but they were glazed over and his body was limp. Long, writhing tendrils covered the ground, wrapped tightly around the hunter as the mass of monsters seemed to breathe in unison. Chan had just stared for a moment, not knowing what to do or how to respond to the situation. But when the tendrils twitched, noticing his presence, he snapped back to reality.

He pulled his sword from its sheath, the familiar pulse of energy bursting from within him. The hunter’s gaze finally focused, eyes immediately finding Chan and he began to struggle in the hold of the monsters.

“Changbin!” he had yelled out, looking frantically around the cavern. “There’s another one of us!”

So the other blood hunter was still alive then.

Chan hadn’t had much time to think about the blood hunter’s words before the monsters attacked. Having years and years of experience with them, fighting them wasn’t new and Chan rarely found himself surprised by the monsters. But having them in a nest like this, connected by more than just their mind, was different. Monsters were always more, but within the nest, their connection to one another made them so much stronger; and it made Chan’s connection to them stronger as well.

As one tendril reached and caught his arm, he found his mind becoming blank for a second. His thoughts were no longer his; for a second, he was a part of the hive mind.

_Hunger. Want. Need. More._

He had been quite literally torn out of the thoughts as someone tackled him to the ground, ripping him away from the monster that had held onto him. Something akin to a growl rumbled in his chest, his teeth bared before his human senses returned to him. He paused.

Glowing green eyes glared at him, lips curled to reveal fangs, but he too seemed to push the beast within back as he realized that Chan wasn’t a threat.

“You okay?” he asked, scrambling off Chan and offered him a hand to help him up.

“They almost got me there,” Chan grumbled, taking the man’s hand. “You?”

“Peachy,” the hunter said, sarcasm lacing his tone. He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off as a tendril attempted to grab both of them. Chan dodged it, fully prepared to grab the other hunter should the monster get a hold of him, but he too managed to narrowly avoid it. “Would you mind getting my friend Jisung over there out of this?” he asked, gesturing to the hunter who was slowly being swallowed by the mass of monsters.

Even if years had passed since this incident, Jisung still whined about how they had their moment while he was being brainwashed by the hive mind.

  
  


  
  
  


Time seemed to pass differently after Chan had met his two new companions. Even though only a decade or so had passed, it felt like an eternity to Chan. It was just that Changbin and Jisung made his existence so much richer. He didn’t go long periods without seeing someone smile at him, his voice never grew rough from not speaking, someone was there to comfort him when the bad dreams returned, and he could be the one offering comfort to others. It was a twist of fate that Chan had never seen coming, and he never wanted to go back.

He found himself overprotective of Changbin and Jisung at times. But he just couldn’t help it. He treasured them, and as the oldest of their small group, he felt responsible for them.

Jisung was the youngest of the bunch, being a century younger than Chan. He was kind, bright eyed and funny. Truly, there was never a dull moment when he was around. But he could also be thoughtful, and he was wise too, providing both Chan and Changbin with advice when they needed it. He had gained power in a very different way than Chan (and Changbin for that matter). Apparently there was a ritual in order to become a blood hunter, a newer one that very few went through with. But Jisung, like all blood hunters Chan had heard of, had nothing to lose. Jisung never specified what happened to his family or what led him to the ritual, and Chan didn’t want to push. The blood that ran in his veins didn’t belong to his human self, it was all monster blood. It was never noticeable unless he used the power he held; when he used it, a patch of skin on his neck turned black and a third eye, poisonous green like the others, opened.

Changbin was much like Chan, even though he was around seven decades younger. They both had eyes of monsters, but while Chan’s monster eye was blue when his powers weren’t used, Changbin’s was red. He had been in a similar situation as Chan when he became a monster hunter. His family had suffered the vicious attacks twice, the first time taking Changbin’s parents and the second time claiming the life of his sister. Changbin was the last one remaining and he, just like Chan, had nothing left but the desire to protect the weaker.

The three of them fit together like puzzle pieces, like they were meant to be together. Despite making a living out of killing monsters and constantly putting themselves into harms way, it was a pleasant existence; one that Chan never wanted to change.

But change was a part of life.

They heard of the monster when they passed through a fishing village. The trail of monsters had led them there, but instead of finding a nest and a village paralyzed by fear, what they found was a peaceful place with the rumors of a monster in the caves near the eastern shore.

“I don’t know if it’s a monster though,” the young barmaid had whispered to Chan as she served them, leaning closer as if to avoid any villagers overhearing her. “Everyone says it’s a monster but… I’m not so sure.” She took a deep breath, eyes shifting around nervously. “My father forbade me to speak of this. He said that the monster needed to be killed, but…”

“But..?” Chan had pushed.

“He didn’t hurt me.”

“He?”

The young woman nodded. “He’s a gentle soul. One night I was…” She licked her lips. “I was walking along the shore, looking for shells. I like to make bracelets and necklaces to sell to travelers, it helps to support my family. I swear there was something in the water. Because something pulled me in. And I-I almost died.” Her voice was wavering, her eyes downcast and her bottom lip trembling. “He saved me. Pulled me out of the water and chased off whatever had pulled me into the water to begin with.”

“So we’re not looking for a monster then?” Changbin asked. “Just an outcast?”

“No.” She shook her head. “He’s… he’s an outcast, but not just an outcast. His eyes are green, he has eyes along his arm too. But he’s… he’s human too.”

“So a blood hunter,” Jisung murmured.

“I wasn’t sure what he was,” the woman whispered. “But I don’t want you to chase him like he’s one of the monsters you kill. He’s so much more than that, and I-I can’t stand the thought of him being slaughtered just because people don’t understand what he is.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“I do.” The woman inhaled sharply. “Do you promise to not hurt him before hearing him out? He didn’t speak to me… but maybe he’ll speak to you.”

“I promise,” Chan said, extending a hand. When the woman took it, his eyes flashed green. “I vow to not hurt him before I’ve heard what he has to say. I vow that I will take everything into consideration and not make any rash decisions.”

The woman stared at him, fear starting to creep up on her and Chan didn’t blame her.

“What… was that?”

“The quick glow of the eyes is called night shine,” Jisung explained. “The vow part is Chan hyung making a vow he cannot break. It’s finalized by the night shine.”

The woman had nodded, and proceeded to tell them about the lair of the half-monster. She hadn’t known exactly where he lived, but she could help them to eliminate some of the caves in the massive cave system, and for that, Chan would be eternally grateful.

The search for the half-monster had taken them a day, but at last they had arrived to a place that seemed like the lair. The walls of the tunnel they were walking in had traces of the goop left by monsters, the thick, tar like substance that seemed to ooze from the monsters bodies. The further they walked, the more goo covered the walls, and that had Chan alarmed. He had so earnestly wanted to believe the young woman, that the being in these caves was no monster, and he could only pray that he wouldn’t be proven wrong. He hoped they would find a blood hunter.

The tunnels opened into a small cavern, and what they found was no blood hunter.

It wasn’t a monster either.

Clearly human too, the half-monster was crouched down low, green eyes locked at the three intruders. A deep growl rumbled and echoed between the rocky walls, not human in nature. He had long, matted and dirty black hair framing his heart shaped face and thick lips curled back to reveal fangs as he moved closer. His clothes were torn and dirty. When he came closer, Chan finally saw the monster part of him.

Half of his left arm was black, the hand larger than the right one and ending in long, sharp claws rather than blunt human nails. And in the black, like the woman had said, were small, small eyes; green like his own but very similar to the eye that opened on Jisung’s neck from time to time.

“What do we do?” Jisung had whispered, leaning closer to Chan. “He’s… he’s like us but he’s…”

“Feral,” Changbin supplied.

“Yeah.” Jisung paused. “Should we just leave him? He does not seem too keen on having us here.”

“ _We_ are in _his_ lair. We’re the intruders here. It’s only natural that he feels threatened,” Chan said, his voice calm and his eyes never leaving the half-monster. “Let me… try something.” He closed his eyes, letting the familiar pulse of power rush through him. As he opened his eyes, green met green, and suddenly the two of them were connected.

_Kin. Here. Why?_

The connection of the hive mind was a difficult one, and they usually never got it to work in their advantage, but with this non-verbal half-monster, the connection was their best bet. One could never communicate with actual words through it, but emotions to convey the message had to do for now.

_Here. Kin. Safe._

While it maybe wasn’t the exact words Chan would have preferred, it had to do for now. It caused the half-monster to pause, back straightening a little and the hostile glow of his eyes dimmed. He tilted his head, expression softening from angry to now curious.

“I’m Chan,” Chan began slowly, pointing to himself before gesturing to Jisung and Changbin. “These are my companions, Jisung and Changbin.”

As he introduced them, their eyes turned green as well to show the half-monster that he was among his own kind.

“I-“ the half-monster began, his voice rough and gravely from not using it. He paused for a moment, seemingly trying to remember his own name. “I… am Hyunjin.”

  
  


  
  


Hyunjin never really found his humanity again, and Chan doubted that he ever would. But that was okay, because no matter what, whether he was more monster than human, Chan loved him. He knew Jisung and Changbin loved him as well, no matter what.

The young woman they had spoken to, on the day they had found Hyunjin, had been right. He was a gentle soul, good all the way through with a heart of gold. He wanted to do the right thing, but words were difficult for him to grasp and anger was never far from the surface. Green never left his eyes, causing humans to loathe him more than the rest of them. He was a good hunter, but his training had taken many, many years to complete.

At first, Chan had been worried about the hive mind. If a monster caught Hyunjin, and charmed him through the bond of the hive mind… how would Hyunjin react? Would he give in and become one of them? However, his worries had quickly been proven to be unnecessary when, on their first job as four, Hyunjin had been swarmed and buried in monsters, yet he hadn’t even spaced out like Chan usually did upon the first touch of a monster.

Over the years they tried to figure out what had happened, why Hyunjin’s left hand was a monster hand, but they never made much progress on that. Hyunjin had little memory of what happened to him when he was still human. He had pieces of memories. He could recall a happy period, a woman in white and a very small child. Then everything morphed into blood, fire and death. Then he woke up on the shores of the fishing village, no longer human.

Hyunjin had proven to be the most adept at tracking monsters, which helped immensely. They didn’t have to wander for days, relying on rumors and whispers to find the monsters, but they could actually track the monsters right away, as soon as they were made aware of their existence. None of them had a sense of smell as keen as Hyunjin. Being more monster than the others also meant that he was a bit more aware of their kin.

They had been walking through the forest of the northeast when Hyunjin had suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. He straightened his back, stretching a little taller.

“What?” Jisung asked, immediately alarmed. “What do you sense?” His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, ready to pull it out at any second. “Monsters?”

Hyunjin shook his head. “Kin,” he said after a moment of silence.

“Kin,” Chan echoed and Hyunjin nodded in affirmation. “Far away?”

“In this forest,” Hyunjin murmured.

“That’s… very close,” Changbin said and Chan hummed. “Should we seek them out?” He glanced to Jisung and Hyunjin, then back to Chan. “Are we looking for another companion?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and the faintest smile tugged on his lips.

“Are you expecting me to take them in?”

“Isn’t that what you do?”

“Only if they want and need companions,” Chan said with a scowl.

“You’re very noble for a half-monster,” Changbin mused, ignoring the glare Chan sent his way.

“There should be a roadside inn soon,” Chan said, changing the subject and Changbin nodded. “If it hasn’t been leveled to the ground since our last visit.”

Changbin snorted. “Wouldn’t surprise me,” he said. “It was ready to fall over when we last visited.”

“True.”

Chan still remembered the inn, it was where he, Jisung and Changbin had stayed during their first night together. They had entered the building, all three covered in monster gore and blood. The owners had scowled at them, both for the blood, the gore and the fact that they were beasts themselves. But they had proof that they had killed monsters close, and thus they received the reward.

As the building revealed itself, Chan was impressed to see that it was still standing. The paint had been chipped off last time, and now the walls to it were freshly painted. It looked like a different building.

Back in the days, the inn had been vacant save for their little group and a few merchants, but now it seemed to flourish. It was packed, only a few tables still available and for a brief second, Chan watched the joyous atmosphere within the inn. Then everyone noticed the four blood hunters in the doorway, and everyone froze.

Murmurs filled the inn as they entered. Chan ordered them to find a table, and before his companions could leave, he whispered to Changbin to keep extra close to Hyunjin. He didn’t like the barely disguised looks of disdain and disgust sent Hyunjin’s way. Changbin nodded, quickly moving from Chan to Hyunjin. But as they walked, Jisung was the one who snapped his teeth to a human who sneered something.

Chan sighed.

“Where do you hail from?” the barkeeper asked, eyes narrowed as he studied Chan closely. “You and your companions caused quite the ruckus already.”

Chan rolled his eyes at the bite in the barkeeper’s voice. “It’s always like this, no matter where we go. People seem to never learn how to accept us,” he said, biting his tongue as the barkeeper snorted. “I’m from Aurum.”

“You’re the Monster of Aurum then?”

“That would be me,” Chan said with a sigh. “You seem rather… on edge. Any monsters close by?”

“No,” the barkeeper muttered. “We had the Beast of Selma pass here just a day ago. He couldn’t find any monsters around, but he caused quite the commotion himself.”

The Beast of Selma. The closest Chan had been to him was three decades ago, when his companionship with Jisung and Changbin was new, and they had stayed in the same town for a night but the Beast had arrived before them in the evening and he was gone just as fast. He was quick on his feet and good at covering physical tracks.

Maybe he had been the one Hyunjin had caught the scent of.

“Have you heard anything about others… half-monsters?” Chan asked, leaning against the counter as he pushed a gold coin across to the barkeeper. “We’ve been traveling through the wild for a very long time, and thus I haven’t been able to keep up with the news.”

The barkeeper thought for a moment, then his expression tensed and he leaned closer, lowering his voice. “The demon prince is said to have recruited a disciple.”

Chan frowned. “Are they sure the Demon Prince truly exists? I can assure you that I have tried to look for him.”

“According to rumors he exists, and he now travels with a younger man by his side at all times. People fear that maybe he’s trying to build an army on his own insanity,” the barkeeper murmured. “I don’t know what to believe to be honest. I cannot imagine losing your mind to the point of actually consuming the heart of a monster.”

“Hm…”

Chan looked the man over. He appeared genuinely concerned about this demon prince, and Chan couldn’t blame him. The rumors of the demon prince had been around for a long time by now, but Chan had never found him. But if he did exist and now had another one by his side, that was indeed concerning. They could go feral at any moment and that would be a great threat to humanity; if they went feral, the blood hunters would have to intervene and Chan didn’t ever want to hurt his own kin. They suffered enough already.

The barkeeper scowled at him, muttering to himself and Chan took that as a hint. He quickly ordered food and drink for his group before moving back to sit with them.

Dinner was, as it always was in human places, stiff. They were always watched, and it made all of his companions uncomfortable. Maybe they should just have paid for a room for the night and eaten their food there. As they ate, Chan had noted that Hyunjin wasn’t eating much. He was mostly just pushing his food around with his fork, occasionally lifting his head to stare off through the windows of the inn.

When they had restocked on food and began to leave the inn, someone grabbed Chan’s arm. A young boy, maybe fifteen at most, stared at him with frightened eyes.

“You… you help people, right?” he whispered, his voice trembling.

“I do,” Chan said slowly, eyes flickering around. He noticed that others in the inn stared at them, but as soon as the other guests in the inn laid eyes on the boy, they scoffed and rolled their eyes.

“You need to save him.”

Chan frowned. “Who?”

“M-my brother,” the boy said, his voice small and head downcast. “There’s… there’s a man in the forest and he… He kidnapped my brother. I don’t know what he did with him, but my brother has been gone for weeks.” His voice was growing desperate. “Everyone says the man doesn’t exist, that I’ve gone crazy with grief and th-that my brother was killed by an animal. But I know he’s still alive! That man has done something to him!”

Chan placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. His heart hurt for him.

“Please,” the boy whimpered. “I-I don’t have much but-“

“I do not ask for payment,” Chan said softly. “We will see what we can find, if you tell us where to look.”

  
  
  


  
  


“Kin,” Hyunjin said as soon as they paused.

“What?”

They had headed to the place the young boy had described to them, a large clearing with a very distinct boulder. Apparently there was an old man, a mad one according to the boy, living just a short travel north from the clearing.

“Kin,” Hyunjin repeated, pointing beyond the boulder. “There.”

“Are they close by?” Jisung asked, sniffing in the air as if that would tell him anything. He grimaced, clearly not coming to any conclusion himself.

Hyunjin sniffed in the air. “I… Don’t know. Maybe they’re close. I can smell them.”

Jisung pouted, leaning closer to Chan to mutter “I wish my sense of smell was that great.”

Chan snorted, patting Jisung’s shoulder as a form of comfort.

“Lead the way, Hyunjin,” Changbin said.

They began to make their way through the forest, straying from the larger road and traveling along the smaller paths. As they walked, the presence of monsters grew strong enough for everyone to notice, and it was like the forest started to push closer to them. The tree tops grew thick, blocking out the last bits of sun and soon they found themselves walking in line, the trees ahead of them forming a very narrow tunnel.

“Something is very wrong here,” Jisung grumbled. “I hate it here. Can we leave?”

That had caused Hyunjin to stop dead in his tracks, and Jisung almost walked right into him. He spun around, an unexpected determination in his eyes and his shoulders tense.

“Kin,” he said, gesturing to the path ahead of them. “They’re there.”

“We’ll go there,” Chan said, stepping between Jisung and Hyunjin before anything could start to brew between the two hotheads. “Beside,” he continued, looking more to Jisung than Hyunjin, “there’s traces of monsters there. I can sense it, you should too.”

Jisung nodded.

“So we need to deal with that no matter what,” Chan finished.

“You’re right,” Jisung murmured, glancing to the path ahead. “I just find this so odd. I don’t like it.”

“I understand,” Chan said, his hand resting on Jisung’s shoulder. “I find it odd too, uncomfortably so. But we must continue on.”

Without another word, they continued. Hyunjin guided them through the forest that grew thicker with every footstep of theirs. He paused every now and then to glance around them, listen to the forest and sniff in the air to make sure they were on the right path. But right now, where they were now, there was no other option than the path they walked.

Soon enough, they reached a building. A house.

Or at least it was the remains of one. Not much of the actual building was still standing; the roof had caved in and the only wall that still stood up, reaching higher than a meter, was the front of the house. The paint had chipped off long ago, leaving the wood bare.

What had alarmed Chan was the smell. The air was heavy with the metallic smell of blood and the sickening smell of monster gore. Both smells caused something within Chan to curl with disgust and worry. The smells and the look of the house told Chan that something terrible had happened, but nothing was moving and that somehow made everything worse.

With light footsteps, Chan walked around the front wall to get a good look of the inside of the house. Maybe that would help them understand what had happened.

But the scene in front of him didn’t make much sense. Everything was in pieces; furniture, plates, everything, and it was covered in the tar like substance that covered the monsters. As they walked around the small house, careful to not disturb the scene too much.

“What do you think happened here?” Jisung asked, stepping over a broken chair. “It doesn’t look like monsters attacked from outside,” he mused.

And he was right. The forest around the house was undisturbed, which it wouldn’t have been had the monsters come from the outside. Instead it looked like a monster had exploded out from within the house, and that was most definitely odd. Chan had never seen anything like this.

Hyunjin was sniffing around the place, his posture slightly crouched and for a second he looked more like the creature they had found in that cave all those years ago, not the hunter he had become.

“Hey,” Changbin called out cautiously. “There’s something here.”

Chan moved over to where Changbin was standing. He was towards the back of the house, eyes fixed on what clearly used to be a hidden hatch in the floor. The hatch was laying to the side, blown off its hinges by whatever had caused this destruction. Monster gore and blood covered the edges of the open hole that led down into the basement.

“Guess we should head down,” Chan mumbled, beginning to descend down to the basement, ignoring Jisung’s grumbling about heading right into the maws of whatever monster awaited them.

The broken ladder led them to a narrow hallway, completely dark. Hyunjin stared intently into the darkness, not needing to use his powers to see in the dark, the blood of monsters ran so deep in his veins. Before Jisung stepped onto the damp dirt floor of the hallway, his eyes were glowing bright green.

“I refuse to enter a dark space blind,” Jisung snapped when Changbin sent him a curious glance, the eye on his neck opening to glare at the others.

Changbin just rolled his eyes, a pulse of power rolling off him as his eyes too turned green. Chan let his eyes wander over his small group, and when he turned his gaze back to the hallway, he could see perfectly in the dark as well.

“Kin is here,” Hyunjin murmured as they began to move carefully.

“When you say kin,” Jisung began, glancing at Hyunjin. “Do you mean someone like us, or a… monster.”

“Kin,” Hyunjin snapped, irritation bleeding into his voice. “Like us. Half-monster.”

“Okay, okay,” Jisung said, raising his hands.

“Would you two quiet down?” Changbin asked, his voice a low hiss. “We don’t know what awaits us ahead.”

Jisung bit his tongue, wanting to argue but Chan raised a hand to quiet them down. Changbin was right. They didn’t know what awaited them.

Blood and the tar like goo from the monsters covered the walls of the hallway, the torches that lined the walls covered in the goo as well. The presence of their kin was growing stronger, and Chan could almost feel their heartbeats sync together.

When the hallway opened into a room, Chan paused.

He could hear the harsh breathing of someone from within, an underlying growl seeping into every exhale. Then he heard the words.

“Turn me back. Reverse this. Please turn me back. I don’t deserve this. Turn me back.”

They all peered into the room. On the dirt floor were two people, one laying on their back and the second sitting on top of the other. Upon a second glance, Chan realized that the person laying on their back was an elderly man, already dead; and the one on top was the one who was speaking. He was young, most of his face obscured by his black hair. The young man was the source of the destruction. Around him, the tar like goo spread out like a fan; like the tar had exploded from the young man.

“Hello?” Chan asked, and the man snapped his head up.

Sharp, glowing green eyes stared at Chan. He looked so painfully young that Chan’s heart hurt for him.

“Who are you?” he asked, not moving a muscle. His eyes wandered over the four of them. “What are you doing here?” he hissed. “I’m not a monster you need to get rid of.”

“Kin,” Hyunjin whispered, taking a step forward.

That was a mistake.

“I’M NOT YOUR KIN!” the young man yelled, green eyes blazing and Chan could have sworn that he saw the shadows begin to move behind the man. His lips curled back to reveal fangs, just like Chan and his companions. He was every bit like them.

“Let’s not get worked up here,” Chan said cautiously, taking a step forward to get between Hyunjin and the young man. The shadows twisted and curled, a tendril lashing out like a whip as the young man gritted his teeth. The familiar green of the eyes began to show in the shadows as well.

Things were not going great.

“We’re not here to get rid of you,” Chan continued.

The boy stared at him, his body tense as he lowered himself a little; he looked as if he was going to pounce at Chan at any moment.

“Then why are you here?” he sneered.

“A young boy approached us, at the crossroad inn,” Chan said, and the young man made a noise in the back of his throat. “He spoke about an old man, and how he was worried about his brother. His brother had wandered into the forest and disappeared. The boy thought the old man had taken his brother. We’re simply here to look into that.”

The young man lowered his head, and for a moment he was silent; then his body began to shake with sobs.

“Can I come closer?” Chan asked.

The young man didn’t reply. So Chan carefully stepped closer and crouched down.

“You’re the brother he spoke of, correct?”

The young man nodded. “I was traveling to another town for a market. This bastard caught me on the way back,” he said, his voice wavering but as he said the last part, the monster parts of him began to seep out and eyes opened in the shadows, all of them blazing with the same anger that had been in the man’s eyes before. “He turned me into this,” he hissed, looking up to meet Chan’s eyes.

“He.. he turned you into this?” Chan asked, brows furrowed. He looked back to his companions for possible answers. Jisung was the one who provided him with one. He mouthed a silent blood ritual to Chan.

“I never asked to become a monster,” the young man snapped and Chan turned back to him. “Do you think anyone would willingly become what you are?”

“You don’t need to word it like that,” Changbin muttered.

“You’re monsters,” the young man said, eyes wandering over the four of them. “You’re hated by humans, feared even. I can’t be one of you.”

“You’re just as much of a monster as us,” Changbin growled, taking a step forward.

The young man shot to his feet, the shadows behind him moving erratically. “I’m nothing like you!”

“Changbin,” Chan warned, standing up as well and he held out a hand to Changbin to calm him before this situation went overboard. “We’re not here to get you. We’ll leave you if you wish,” he said, directed to the young man. His eyes kept flickering between the young man and the shadows behind him. Clearly the boy was connected to something within the shadows, but Chan had never seen something like this before. At least never with a blood hunter.

“I want to become human again,” the young whispered, his angry expression washing from his face and tension draining from his body. His shoulders slumped and his eyes turned to the floor. “I can’t do this. I-I have a family a-and—“

“There’s no going back,” Chan said softly, cautiously reaching out to place a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

“B-but—“

“I’m sorry.”

The reaction was not one Chan had expected. The young man in front of him just crumbled. The shadows faded, the eyes blinking shut as the young man’s knees gave up under him. Chan grabbed him before he could hit the floor, and the young man just wrapped his arms around Chan, weeping into his chest.

It hurt. It reminded Chan of his younger siblings, even if those memories were decades upon decades old.

“I never asked for this,” the young man cried.

“I know,” Chan murmured, rubbing his back in an attempt to comfort him. “I’m sorry.”

The young man continued to cry into Chan’s arms, and Chan just held him close. Chan wasn’t sure how long time passed, but eventually the man started to calm down, and when he did, he spoke.

“I’m Jeongin,” he whispered, his voice broken.

“Jeongin,” Chan echoed, and Jeongin nodded into Chan’s chest. “Would you like to travel with us? I know you don’t… want to associate with us, but if you’d like to, you can come with us,” he said, glancing back at his companion. None of them objected.

“You’re the only ones who would… who would care about me now,” Jeongin whimpered. “I’m not accepted in human society anymore.”

Chan had refrained from saying anything, because Jeongin spoke the truth. And the truth hurt.

  
  
  
  


  
  


Jeongin was quite the addition to their group.

He didn’t open up as fast as the others had. He kept to the side, in the background and away from the center of attention. He wasn’t fond of his new companions, and he struggled with finding himself. Chan didn’t blame him. This wasn’t something that Jeongin had chosen himself, like the rest of them. He had been forced into this life, without the option to turn back.

But eventually, after almost a full year of traveling with them, Chan started to notice a change in Jeongin. It was subtle at first, and a bit surprising. Chan had fully expected Jeongin to turn to Jisung first for comfort, seeing as Jisung was the most human out of all of them and it would make sense for Jeongin, who longed so much for his humanity, to seek Jisung out.

The one Jeongin sought out turned out to be Hyunjin.

They were the total opposites, Chan noted as he watched them chat. Jeongin wanted nothing but humanity back. Hyunjin was the most monster out of all of them, not remembering anything from his time as a human. Unlike Jeongin, he had nothing to look back to and want back.

Maybe, in hindsight, it made sense for Jeongin to seek out Hyunjin.

“They are kind of cute,” Changbin mused as he sat down beside Jisung and Chan, joining them in watching Jeongin and Hyunjin talk.

“They are cute,” Jisung said in agreement, leaning back on his hands. He let his eyes linger on Jeongin and Hyunjin, then he looked to Chan. “Did you hear about the Beast?”

Changbin let out a snarl.

“Not you, the Beast of Selma.”

“You can’t just say the Beast,” Changbin muttered. “For some reason everyone loves to clump me and the Beast of Selma together.”

“You are the better one, Beast of Wald,” Jisung said, grin on his lips.

Changbin’s eye twitched, but Chan could clearly see the smile in the corner of his lips. “Why thank you, Demon of Sterp.”

Jisung snorted.

“I did not hear about the Beast. Did you hear anything when you went into town?” Chan asked, steering the conversation back on track.

Jisung nodded. “Apparently he got into a bit of an argument with the leader of Aurja, and threatened to wipe out the whole town. The day after, livestock in Aurja was found dead and the town thinks its the Beast now. There’s a price on his head.”

“Do they have any proof?” Chan asked.

“The fences were forcefully torn down and some of the goo was left on the ground,” Jisung said. “They just assumed it was him, and he hasn’t shown himself since. I don’t know if they did a proper investigation on the issue.”

“That could be a regular monster though,” Changbin commented with a frown. “I get that the Beast of Selma isn’t the nicest guy, according to rumors, but if they didn’t even investigate before blaming him… that’s harsh.”

Chan hummed in agreement, his gaze distant as he stared out to the open field ahead of them. His mind was wandering. He’d known about the Beast of Selma for years and years now, and what he knew about him was that he was a gruff, serious guy who seemed to have his focus on the money involved with hunting monsters. Maybe their views on their occupation didn’t line up, but this Beast was still kin.

“We’re going to Aurja, right?” Changbin asked, pulling Chan out of his own thoughts. Both Jisung and Changbin were looking at him with curious glances.

“We should at least investigate it,” Jisung said.

“We should,” Chan said in agreement. “There’s currently no immediate threat around here, we can at least go to Aurja to investigate the issue.” He looked over to Hyunjin and Jeongin who had both taken interest in the ongoing conversation. “It wouldn’t hurt at least. How bad could it possibly be?”

  
  
  


  
  
  


The answer to that was: very, very bad.

The town of Aurja already had a clearly strained relationship with half-monsters, and upon arrival, Chan could feel the hostility towards them buzz in the air. It quickly became clear to him that they needed to talk to the leader of the town, and that going into a tavern here would put them into unnecessary danger. On their way to the house, Hyunjin had almost gotten into a squabble with one of the residents of the town as he insulted Chan.

Hyunjin, heart of gold, protective and fiercely loyal, snarled at the old woman and Chan had to grab his arm to pull him away from here. It wasn’t the right time for that, but Chan couldn’t help the way his heart swelled in his chest.

During their walk through town, Jeongin kept close to the group with his head lowered to avoid the stares. Jisung and Changbin were walking on one side each of Chan, posture proud but Chan could tell that the gazes and whispers form the residents were bothering them too.

The door to the house creaked open, and an old man grimaced as he laid eyes upon them.

“I’ll call for the master,” he said.

“Not even offering us to enter the house, how rude,” Changbin commented dryly to Jisung, but his voice was loud enough for the man to hear him.

The man, possibly the head servant, gritted his teeth. “Would you like to come inside while you wait?” he asked with a forced smile, his voice dripping with venom.

“We’d love to,” Chan said, faking politeness.

The old man showed them into the living room on the first floor of the house before he lowered his head and mumbled something about the master of the house.

“I hate it here,” Jisung muttered as soon as they were left alone.

“Can’t say I disagree,” Jeongin said, glancing around the room and he scrunched his nose. The room itself was quite extravagant, with tapestries and paintings adorned the walls. It was a luxury that the people of Aurja themselves could never get. “This is terrible.”

“We just need to clear the Beast’s name and then we can go,” Chan said, leaning closer to whisper to Jeongin.

Jeongin nodded, lips pressed together.

Soon a man in his late fifties entered the room. He stared at their group with clear distaste and Chan felt a flare of anger within. This man regarded them with so much hatred that Chan, for only a brief second, considered to not help him at all. But then he composed himself. If they walked away now, the people would suffer and the perception of half-monsters would be even worse.

“You’re the Monster of Aurum,” the leader of Aurja said after staring at Chan for a long time. Chan nodded, lips pressed firmly together. “Why are you and your… group here? I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors.”

“About the Beast of Selma?” Chan asked. “Yes, we have and—“

“Then you know that we’ve had enough of half-monsters claiming to want to help humans,” the man snapped. Chan bit his tongue to not snap at him; he was testing Chan’s patience and they hadn’t even been here for long. “The Beast of Selma is being hunted down as we speak. I sent my best hunters after him.”

“Your men are going to die,” Jisung muttered, only for his companions to hear.

“Do you know that it’s the Beast of Selma? Or are you assuming?” Chan asked, watching as the man’s eyes turned dark. “I do not mean to question you, my good sir, but we’re here to investigate the attack. The Beast of Selma is quite the character and appears to not always handle humans the best. But I want you to know that monster hunters have a duty to protect, and it’s very unlikely that they would turn around to attack humans and their livestock like this.”

That was a lie. There was no such thing as monster hunters having a duty towards humanity. Humanity was simply lucky that most half-monsters were good people in their core. But the leader of Aurja didn’t need to know that. Chan bit the inside of his cheek as he forced a smile.

“Let us investigate before you order for the death of the Beast,” Chan said. “We only need a day at most.”

“Do you think it was something else?” The man raised an eyebrow. “He threatens us, disappears and the attack happens.”

“It could be monsters,” Changbin said, crossing his arms across his chest. “Just simple monsters looking to feed their kin.”

“But the timing—“

“Could be just a coincidence,” Chan said before the man could launch into a preaching about it all. They didn’t have time for this. “Just give us one day, that’s all I ask. We’ll look at the farm where it happened, and if we can find a monster, we’ll defeat it and bring back proof. If it turns out that the Beast is involved, we’ll help you find him.”

The man stared at Chan for a long time, flinching when Chan extended a hand.

“Deal?”

The man gritted his teeth, clearly hating to make deals with monsters. “Deal.”

  
  
  


“You know,” Jisung said as they walked around the farm, inspecting the broken fence and the remains of the scene. “I’m surprised you promised to help the humans kill the Beast.”

“I did not say I would help them kill him,” Chan scowled, eyes trained on the ground. Upon first glance, there were only trails leading into the pen, but no trails leading out, and Chan could imagine that the untrained human struggled. But with heightened senses and decades of experience, Chan could see the dragging marks in the ground, leading into the forest. He gestured for his companions to follow him. “This way.”

“I hope not,” Jisung said as he followed Chan into the forest. “I told you that I met him before, correct?”

“You did,” Chan hummed. “He does not sound like the best at making good first impressions.”

“He’s not,” Jisung said in agreement. “But he is a good person deep down, I know it. And thus, I am not on board with this should this result in him getting captured and killed.”

Chan halted abruptly, so suddenly that Jisung walked right into his back. He spun around to look at Jisung with a serious expression. “I will never, and I repeat never, do anything that result in our kin getting killed. What I want for us is to become more accepted in society.”

“I understand,” Jisung mumbled, shoulders slumping. “I just wanted to… to make sure.”

“I know,” Chan said, patting Jisung on the head. “You’re a good person too, Jisung. Good as gold, all the way through.”

Jisung ducked his head, cheeks turning pink in embarrassment. Chan did not comment on it.

The forest grew thicker and the presence of monsters grew stronger. It didn’t take them long until the tar began to appear, at first as spots on the forest floor and soon it covered everything.

“This isn’t the work of a blood hunter,” Jeongin said, pushing a goo covered branch away from his face with a grimace. “Too much goo for that.” He looked between his companions. “Unless some half-monsters actually are goo covered.”

“I’ve never met one,” Changbin said.

“If there is someone, that bastard must have done something terrible in order to receive the absolute worst monster trait,” Jisung added, brows furrowed as he scratched his neck absentmindedly. “I’m glad I’m not slimy.”

“Trust me, we’re all glad you’re not slimy,” Changbin commented, grinning as Jisung shoved him.

“It’s close,” Hyunjin said, his serious voice breaking the playful mood. All of them focused, and one by one their eyes started to glow.

“What is close?” Chan asked, sniffing in the air as if that would help him any. It didn’t. “Monster or the Beast?”

“Monster,” Hyunjin said before he paused for a second, brows knitted together. “Maybe kin too. I’m… not sure.” He glanced around, making a disgusted face as a slimy branch dragged across his arm. “We should be careful. I think it’s a nest.”

“It’s most definitely a nest,” a new voice said, causing everyone in the group to turn around. Behind them was another half-monster, his green eyes piercing as he studied them closely. He had a straight nose and an oval face, his jowls chubby and he looked way too young to have embraced this life. His black hair hung almost in his eyes, his jaw tense and lips pressed together.

“Kin,” Hyunjin said.

“Seungmin!” Jisung said at the same time.

“Hey, Jisung,” Seungmin said, but his voice was strained. “Haven’t seen you in many, many years.” His eyes scanned the group, then returned to Jisung. “Got yourself a little group of hunters according to rumors. You look well.”

“Can’t say the same about you,” Jisung said, crossing his arms across his chest. “You look like you’ve seen better days.”

“I’ve seen better years,” Seungmin commented dryly. “But enough of that. What are five hunters doing here?” he asked as his eyes wandered over the group. His gaze lingered on Hyunjin for a moment. “Are you all hunters? Or is this one a pet?”

“How dare you?” Jeongin snapped, a growl making its way into his voice as he took a step forward. “Why the hell would anyone keep their kin as pets?”

Seungmin shrugged nonchalantly. “That doesn’t stop humans from doing it.” He looked between Jeongin and Hyunjin. “He doesn’t look very… human, compared to the rest of us. I don’t know, having a monster pet didn’t seem too far-fetched to me.”

“I’m not a pet,” Hyunjin whispered.

“Are you always this rude?” Changbin questioned.

“Only when I’ve been out in the wild for weeks because a human town decided to pin the actions of a monster on me and decided I needed to be killed.”

“That sounded oddly specific,” Changbin muttered.

“Okay, let’s stop here,” Chan said, deciding that it was enough. “Let’s start again. Hello, I’m Chan and these are my traveling companions. We are here to help you clear your name.”

Seungmin had appeared taken aback by that, eyes widening for a moment before he frowned. “And what do you want out of it?”

“Nothing!” Chan quickly protested. “We don’t want anything but to clear your name.”

Seungmin studied Chan with narrowed eyes, but he said nothing. He looked to Jeongin and Hyunjin.

“You’re kin, we do not wish you harm,” Hyunjin said.

Jeongin looked like he wanted to argue with Hyunjin, but bit hit tongue. Seungmin also appeared as if he wanted to argue. Chan could feel a headache creep up on him.

“Now we just need to bring back proof of Seungmin’s innocence,” Jisung said, breaking the staring match between Jeongin, Seungmin and Hyunjin.

“So we just storm the nest and kill everything in there,” Changbin muttered. “And here I was, thinking I would be able to go without being covered in blood and gore today.”

“Seems like you were wrong,” Jisung said, grin on his lips and he knocked his shoulder against Changbin’s. “We need you, oh big strong hero.”

Seungmin frowned and looked to Chan. “Are they always this careless?”

“It’s called being used to it,” Jisung argued. “We’ve done this before. I’m not too worried.”

“I’m a bit worried about them,” Chan said with a shrug. “But it helps them with the nerves.”

Jisung immediately began to argue that he didn’t have nerves at all. Chan just smiled, knowing fully well what a lie that was. And he didn’t miss the way Seungmin’s lips twitched. Just a little.

At the end of the day, they all stepped outside the ruins of the monster nest; all of them covered in gore and blood. It was one of the messiest fights Chan had ever experienced and if he could decide, he wouldn’t do it again. They had managed to bring the head of a monster with them back to the town, to prove Seungmin’s innocence and make sure he wouldn’t be hunted down.

Seungmin had been the one to ask if he could continue to travel with them. He had pulled Chan to the side and whispered his question. At that moment, he looked so young. He was just a young man who lost his life way too early. Chan had replied with a gentle “of course”. And thus five blood hunters became six.

  
  
  


  
  
  
  


Seungmin was an interesting person. Him joining them was different from all those before him. When Jisung and Changbin had joined, they had both been very young and inexperienced. After Hyunjin joined, he had to spend years learning how to be a human, and Jeongin had had to learn how to be a blood hunter. Seungmin was older and experienced, he already knew how things worked in this life.

But he had spent so much time alone, so he had to learn how to accept people into his life again. For a long time, he stayed to the side, not speaking up unless he really had to. But slowly, oh so slowly, he began to open up. Chan just felt so proud as he watched Seungmin open up, soften as he grew close to his companions.

Seungmin was a curious case. Chan, Jisung and Changbin had all embraced their monster parts in order to become more powerful, so they could protect those around them. Hyunjin was a mystery but as he continued to show a great will to protect, maybe his transformation from human to monster had something to do with the desire to protect. Jeongin had been forced, but eventually came around to become a protector as well. But Seungmin, he wasn’t anything like that. It had taken some time to get him to speak of his past, the past he had before he became a half-monster. But one evening, when it was only him and Chan awake, he opened up about how he became a half-monster.

“I’m not a noble person,” Seungmin confessed, head held low and voice quiet.

“What do you mean?” Chan had questioned.

“All of you, except Innie, became…” He trailed off and gestured to himself. “…this in order to save others. I didn’t become this in order to protect others.” He looked away in shame. “I did this for no one but myself.”

Chan frowned. “I don’t understand.”

Seungmin remained silent.

“Seung… This is a horrible life. We all know that and I think we’ve all despised our own existence at some point. I can only speak for myself when I say that my decisions to become this was my overwhelming need to protect, but I’ve had times where I wished for my actions to be undone. So I don’t understand… what about this life was appealing to you?”

“The money.”

“The money,” Chan echoed.

“Blood hunters received money for their work,” Seungmin whispered, eyes fixed on his own hands. “I grew up in poverty. My parents passed away when I was young and I was sent around to various relatives. I had no one to care if I disappeared, and I… I knew that I would get a better life as a blood hunter.”

Chan could feel his heart breaking.

“I’m… My approach to the job has never been good,” Seungmin mumbled. “But after meeting you… I want to become a better person. I’ve been nothing but selfish.”

“Seungmin,” Chan said seriously, reaching out to take Seungmin’s hand. “What you did was incredibly brave and I can imagine it hasn’t been easy.” He sighed, tightening his grip of Seungmin’s fingers. “Sometimes it’s okay to be selfish. And I do not think you’re a bad person in any way. Maybe a bit tactless with people, but not a bad person.”

Seungmin had just smiled softly, and they had spent the rest of the evening in comfortable silence. After that, Seungmin had truly _bloomed_.

What lurked behind the harsh facade was a really soft, gentle soul and Chan knew that everyone was enjoying Seungmin’s company. It had taken some time, due to the poor first impression, but he soon found Hyunjin and Jeongin and when they clicked, they refused to let each other go for a longer period of time.

But the addition of Seungmin to their group wasn’t the only change they went through.

It had been Jeongin’s idea.

“Maybe we should… settle down somewhere,” he had said one evening, when it was only him, Seungmin and Chan awake.

“What?”

“We should settle down,” Jeongin repeated, sounding a bit more confident now. “I don’t mean like we have to settle and never move. I’m just saying that maybe we should have a… base of sort.”

Chan thought for a moment. “It’s a good idea,” he mused. “But who would ever want to sell us a house? We’d be harassed to no end if we settle in a town.”

Something sad flashed in Jeongin’s eyes and Chan’s heart hurt. He hated to be the one to remind Jeongin of what he was.

“We can find something outside a city,” Seungmin whispered, reaching out to take Jeongin’s hand. He had glanced to Chan. “I don’t think I’m too welcomed in cities either.” He grimaced. “Humans still hate my face.”

“But you were innocent!” Jeongin protested, and Seungmin just smiled fondly.

“I know I am,” Seungmin murmured, brushing his thumb over Jeongin’s knuckles. “But in the eyes of humans, I am guilty. It doesn’t matter that it was proven to be a monster.”

“But that’s—“

“Very unfair, I agree,” Seungmin cut Jeongin off. “But I cannot do anything about it so do not worry too much about it. In another few decades, people who remember that will be dead and life will change again.” He turned to Chan. “It wouldn’t be a bad idea to go somewhere where people could find us. Should they need our help.”

“You’re right,” Chan had said. “I’ll see what I can do.”

In the end, they had found a small farm on edge of what once was Aurum. Chan didn’t mention it, but it was close to where he had grown up as a young boy. It hurt, but he smiled through it. No one needed to know.

  
  
  
  


Jeongin came to Chan one night, four decades after they had found him in the remains of the house. Chan had been in his room, going over a letter sent to them by the town of Meer; the town where they had found Hyunjin. They were talking about something similar to Hyunjin, something that inhabited the same cave, but was far more violent than the Creature of Meer.

Chan took his eyes off the letter to look at Jeongin. Even though his soul was past the age of sixty, his body remained that of a barely twenty year old man. And while his eyes often revealed his age, right now he appeared so small and insecure in front of Chan.

“Jeongin?” Chan asked. “Do you want to come in?”

Jeongin nodded wordlessly and stepped inside the room, pulling the door shut behind him. “I need to ask something. I don’t know what… what to do.”

“I’ll try to help,” Chan replied softly, nodding his head as his forehead creased with concern.

“I want to go back,” Jeongin said as he sat down on Chan’s bed, in front of Chan. “Back… Back to what used to be home. To the farm. To my family.”

Chan blinked. Jeongin always avoided speaking of his family. He avoided joining them when they had work too close to the farm where he grew up. He always said it was to protect his family from harm, and while Chan could tell that that was part of the reason, he could also clearly see the shame in Jeongin’s eyes as he spoke about his family.

He never wanted them to see him like this.

And because of his wishes, Chan never went back to see Jeongin’s younger brother again. He tried to not think about it, but during bad nights, the thoughts of the young boy crying for someone to help him find his brother, came back to haunt Chan.

“I know that my parents are probably gone from this world,” Jeongin mumbled, head hanging in shame as he stared at his hands. “But I need to see if my brother is still alive. And if he is, I need to apologize to him.”

“Apologize for what? Becoming a half-monster? Jeongin, you know that you—“

“I will not apologize for that,” Jeongin said quickly. “That was something out of my control. But I need to apologize for never seeking him out and talking to him. He’s my beloved brother, and that hasn’t changed, despite me becoming,” he gestured to himself, “this. But I left him alone and I need to make amends.”

Chan nodded slowly. “That would be the right thing to do.” He glanced to the letter. “The people of Meer have asked for us, and your home is not too far of a detour if you want to go as soon as possible.”

“I’d like to go there as fast as I can, yes,” Jeongin whispered.

They left their house in the evening, all eyes glowing green so they could see in the darkness. Chan had only informed them about Meer, deciding that Jeongin would be the one to tell the others about his planned trip. Jisung and Changbin had given Jeongin curious glances as he told them what he was about to do. Jisung had mentioned to Chan later that he never thought Jeongin would seek out his family members while they were still alive.

“I expected him to seek them out too late and then live with the guilt,” Jisung murmured to Chan as they walked in the back of the group.

“We still don’t know if he has any living relatives,” Chan said and Jisung hummed in agreement. “He might still have to live with the guilt of being too late.”

“True,” Jisung said. “I just never expected him to change his mind about seeing his family this early.” He glanced to Jeongin who was walking in the front, Hyunjin by his side. “I really hope his brother is still alive,” he said, his voice so much softer this time.

“I hope so too,” Chan murmured.

It took them about four days to get to the farm, and when they eventually did get there, Jeongin was as if frozen. He stared at the farm ahead of him, not moving a muscle.

“Are we at the right farm?” Changbin asked cautiously as he looked at Jeongin.

Jeongin nodded, lips pressed together. “It looks so different,” he breathed.

“A lot of time has passed since you were last here,” Seungmin whispered to him, guilt immediately appearing in his eyes as he saw Jeongin’s expression twist. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like—“

“It’s okay,” Jeongin said. “You’re right.” He inhaled sharply and straightened his back, as if he was mustering the courage to walk over to the door. He took a step, and then he paused, glancing back to Chan and his other companions. “Will you come with me?”

Jisung was the first one to reply, pushing Changbin to the side to stand by Jeongin’s side. He took his hand. “We’ll follow you everywhere, if you want us.”

Jeongin didn’t reply. He just nodded, the faintest smile tugging on his lips and he began to walk.

When they got closer to the house, Jisung let go of Jeongin’s hand and they all remained behind as he approached the door. He glanced over his shoulder at them, but no one spoke.

He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

All of them held their breaths, waiting for the door to open. It felt like an eternity had passed before it eventually creaked open and they were met with a familiar face. It was the boy that had approached Chan, all those years ago. The boy who had begged him to save his brother. Chan still considered him a young boy, despite the age showing on his face. Now in his fifties, age lined his face and had hardened that soft look in his eyes. The man didn’t look at anyone but Jeongin, his eyes widening.

“Innie,” he breathed.

“Jeonghoon,” Jeongin whispered. He opened his mouth to speak again, but couldn’t before his brother wrapped his arms around him.

“We thought you died,” Jeonghoon sobbed, holding Jeongin close.

“I’m sorry,” Jeongin whispered, hugging Jeonghoon as if his life depended on it. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.”

Chan could see Jeongin’s brother shake his head as it was pressed into Jeongin’s shoulder.

They held each other for a long time. Chan and the others just stood by the side, watching them. It warmed Chan’s heart to see Jeongin reunite with his brother, but at the same time it hurt to see as well. It made Chan wish to see his own siblings. He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to not think too much about that right now.

Eventually Jeonghoon let Jeongin go.

“What happened?” he asked, lifting his gaze to look at Jeongin’s companions. His eyes soon found Chan, and he looked back to Jeongin. “You found him.”

“I did,” Chan said with a nod.

“I was the one who did not wish to go back,” Jeongin said before his brother could assume anything. “Do not get angry at him. I know he said he would return and tell you, but I asked him to not tell you of me.”

Jeonghoon stared at Jeongin for a long time, his eyes glossy with tears. “Why?”

“I did not want to hurt you,” Jeongin whispered, looking down. “I was turned into a monster, and I knew I could not live with you any longer. I was a danger to you, and no one would have accepted me. I had to leave, and I was too ashamed to tell you and our parents the truth.”

“We thought you were dead.”

Jeongin nodded. “For a long time I believed that it would be better if you believed that. You didn’t need to remember me as the Unwilling Monster. You could simply remember me as Jeongin, the farm boy.”

“I don’t care if monster blood runs through your veins,” Jeonghoon said, taking Jeongin’s face in his hands to make him look at him. “Everyone talks a lot about blood hunters and how their humanity is stripped away when they become what they are. It’s said that they’re more monster than human and that if your loved one becomes one, they’re gone.”

There was a pause. Then Jeonghoon’s face softened.

“But I can see that that was all lies spread to sow hatred into human souls,” he whispered, a smile tugging on his lips. “Because I can still see Jeongin in there, my sweet and loving older brother. I do not see a monster, just a man.”

A sob slipped past Jeongin’s lips and he fell into Jeonghoon’s arms again.

“Would you like to come inside?” Jeonghoon asked when he and Jeongin parted again. “My grandchildren would love to meet you.”

“You’d trust us around children?” Seungmin asked with a raised brow.

Jeonghoon frowned at him. “Do you plan on hurting them?”

“What? No! Of course not!” Seungmin quickly protested.

“Then I do not see a problem with letting you in,” Jeonghoon said as he pushed the door behind him open. “Come in,” he said, gesturing for them all to follow him inside. He then looked at Jeongin. “We have a lot to catch up on.”

After that, Jeongin’s trips back to his childhood home were frequent. The years passed, and his brother grew older and frailer, but he kept visiting. He didn’t just reconnect with his older brother, but he connected with his niece and nephew and their children as well. All of them embraced him with open arms. Being surrounded by family helped when his brother eventually passed.

Jeongin mourned, and he mourned for a long time.

Chan couldn’t help but wonder that maybe not having a family was for the best when you lived an eternal life.

  
  


Decades upon decades had passed since Chan had first heard of the Demon Prince of Sadja, and over the years, the rumors had morphed his name into the Demon Lord of Sadja. And through all rumors over the past century, always by his side was the Prince of Monsters. The Demon Lord had been in the world for almost as long as Chan had; they had most likely been humans at around the same time. Maybe the Demon Lord was a couple of years younger than Chan, as the rumors about him began to surface when Chan had been a blood hunter for ten years. It was curious that Chan and the Demon Lord had not managed to meet, despite both being around for so long.

The rumors about the Demon Lord always went up and down. Sometimes he was all that humans talked about, and then he fell away from their lips for years to follow, and then he was back.

And now, after years of silence, his name was brought back as a quiet whisper.

“The Demon Lord has been sighted again,” Seungmin said as he, Jeongin and Changbin entered the house. “He seems to have lost it for real this time.”

“What do you mean?” Chan asked as he looked up from his cup.

He hoped the warm drink would help him wake up a bit, as the dream he had experienced last night had left him without much rest. It had been about the tar like goo and multiple tendrils reaching out for him, green eyes opening up in the shadows and someone calling out for help. He had been unable to help them.

“There’s rumors about the Demon Lord and Prince again,” Jeongin said as the three of them sat down by the table. “They’re around Sterp this time.”

That drew a growl from Jisung. Chan reached out to place a hand on his thigh, trying to calm him down. Despite none of them being accepted by the villages they’d grown up in, most of them were still fiercely protective of the places that they considered theirs.

“Are they in Sterp?”

“Just around,” Changbin said, leaning back in his chair. “Rumors are never to be trusted, but it seems like the Demon Lord’s sanity has finally snapped.”

“Why do you say that?” Chan asked, raising an eyebrow as he brought the cup to his lips again.

“He was last seen leaving Sterp, and according to rumors he was barely human, and the day after, local lumberjacks found what looks like a nest of monsters,” Seungmin explained. “They think it’s the Demon Lord who finally decided to create his army.”

“How did they even travel through Sterp without us knowing?” Jisung grumbled. “He and the Prince have been around for ages. We should have sought them out earlier.”

“You say that like we haven’t tried,” Jeongin muttered. “The Demon Lord just doesn’t want to be found. I’ve heard about him a couple of times now and I’ve always tried to get a name. He doesn’t even give his name to humans.”

“I don’t blame him,” Seungmin grumbled. “I hate humans.”

Jeongin bit his lip, clearly not agreeing with Seungmin.

“Anyway,” Chan said, before any conflict could arise within his own group. “What should we do about this? Should we travel there to check it for ourselves?”

“It wouldn’t be a bad idea to do so,” Changbin said thoughtfully. “Either it’s a situation similar to Seungmin’s, where the blood hunter is falsely accused of something or it’s actually true, and if so, he’s a danger to everyone and everything around.”

“We could help,” Jeongin said quietly, glancing to Chan. “In both situations, we could help him… right?”

“I’m certain we can,” Chan said. “At least I think we can.”

“Depends on how far his insanity has gone,” Seungmin added, leaning his elbows on the table. “If he’s… no longer of human mind, I don’t know how much we can do for him.” He glanced to Jeongin, and Chan could clearly see the guilt in his eyes. “But if we cannot help him, I’m sure the Prince is still around, as they seem to be bonded somehow, and then we can help him.”

“You really think he would be around if the Demon Lord went insane?” Changbin asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Seungmin has a point.” Jisung mused, pushing his chair back and Chan grimaced at the sound it made as the feet scraped against the floorboards. Jisung stood up and looked at the others. “Maybe we can save both of them, but we can at least save one. When do we leave?”

  
  
  


  
  
  
  


They had left the morning after. The trip from their home to Sterp took about a week. As a group of half-monsters, traveling by anything but foot was difficult. They had yet to get horses, and no one wanted to bring a bunch of them along on their wagons; there were too many of them. But as they had reached Sterp, the rumors of whatever was growing in the caves nearby was getting worse and Chan feared that if they didn’t do anything, the town and everything around it would enter a full-blown panic, and if he could prevent it, he would.

The rumors led them to the forest, and then to the foot of the mountain; that’s where they found the cave.

They had clearly entered what looked to be a nest, with the lack of actual monsters within. Chan had never seen anything like this. The cave reminded him somewhat of the cave they had found Hyunjin in, but this one was buzzing with the presence of something strong, and the walls were covered in the goo.

“I feel like this is just going to be a time where we walk in, thinking there are no monsters and then boom, the place is swarmed,” Jisung noted as they walked down the cave. “There has to be monsters here.”

“No monsters,” Hyunjin said, shaking his head. “Only kin in here.”

“How many?” Seungmin asked cautiously. He was keeping close to Hyunjin, eyes darting around and body tense.

“Two,” Hyunjin replied. “And us.”

“So the little Prince should be here too,” Changbin noted dryly before he glanced to Seungmin. “Looks like you were right.”

“I’m always right,” Seungmin muttered, even though that was a lie.

Changbin rolled his eyes and looked ahead again. “Do we think he’s still sane, or did he go down the same path as his master?” he asked. “I’m just saying that any resonable person should have tried to stay away should his master lose it completely, unless they’ve also lost is.”

“They’re kin. Bonded,” Hyunjin said quietly, lowering his head a little as he furrowed his brows. “I-I would not abandon you. If you lost your mind, I would stay with you.”

Changbin paused, eyes widening and expression softening for a moment. Despite his eyes glowing green and his monster features coming to the surface, he looked soft and Chan could easily see the dusting of pink on his cheeks.

“You’re too good for this, Jinnie,” Jisung mumbled.

Changbin cleared his throat.

“Are they at the same place?” he asked, changing the subject.

Hyunjin turned to look ahead, eyes narrowing as he pressed his lips together. “I’m not sure,” he murmured after a moment. “They’re close to each other, I think… But I don’t know.”

Jisung glanced to Chan, clearly alarmed.

“Let’s continue to move,” Chan said, his voice firm. “We won’t know unless we actually see for ourselves.”

They had continued along the tunnel in silence, all of their eyes glowing green. The presence of something was growing stronger and stronger. It wasn’t a monster, but it didn’t really feel like one of their kin either. Chan wasn’t sure how to explain it, but he knew that it was the Demon Lord. As they walked, Chan couldn’t help but wonder that maybe the Demon Lord had succumbed to his own insanity and become something completely new.

The cave eventually opened up, and they were greeted by something that looked like the heart of a monster nest.

The walls were covered in black goo, and the second they stepped inside, eyes began to open in the shadows. Chan held out his hands instinctively as if that would protect the blood hunters behind him.

Among the shadows, Chan could see something move. It didn’t quite look like a monster. It was more humanoid that the monsters were, two legs and two arms, but it was covered in the same tar like goo as the walls and eyes began to open all across its body.

“Please don’t hurt him,” a deep voice rumbled from beside them and Chan snapped his head around.

A pair of glowing eyes stared back at him. A young man, maybe around Jeongin and Seungmin’s age, was cowering against the wall of the cave. He had a heart shaped face, thick lips parted in fear and his black hair tangled and dirty. He was clearly hurt, his clothes torn and a large gash on his chest. He was clutching a small dagger to his chest, his hollowed cheeks stained with tears.

“He can’t control himself when this happens,” the young man whispered, his voice thick with tears. “Please don’t hurt him.”

“We’re here to help,” Chan said, taking a step closer to the young man. “My name is Chan.”

“I know who you are, Monster of Aurum,” the young man said as he pushed himself firmer against the wall. “First of the blood hunters.”

“May I know your name?” Chan asked.

“It’s Felix.” He looked between Chan and the Demon Lord. “I-I need help.”

“As I said, we’re here to help.”

Felix nodded. “This happens sometimes,” he whispered, gesturing to the creature in the back of the cave. “It happens to me sometimes, and it happens to Minho. But it’s never this bad.” He licked his lips, hands trembling as he adjusted his grasp of the dagger. “Minho must have known it would be bad this time. He told me I had to kill him if I couldn’t snap him out of it.” His voice was wavering and he just sounded so tired.

“Is he truly gone?” Changbin asked.

Felix’s eyes snapped to stare at him.

“What can we do to help you?” Jisung asked.

“He’s still in there!” Felix cried. “I-I just- I need- He-“

“Felix,” Chan said, crouching down to get on Felix’s level. “What do you need us to do? Is he still in there?” He nodded to the creature as it began to move.

“He is! I know he is!” Felix said as he nodded frantically. “I just need to get to him.”

“Do you know how?”

Felix shook his head.

“Do you think we can talk to him?” Chan asked.

Felix opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, another voice spoke.

“Kin?” Hyunjin said softly and Chan whipped his head around to see Hyunjin taking a step towards the creature.

Chan wanted to call out to Hyunjin, urge him to take a step back and watch out for the creature, but all his words got stuck in his mouth. It seemed like Hyunjin’s actions had caused them all to freeze. Even the creature paused, then it turned its elongated neck to stare at Hyunjin, more eyes opening on its back.

“Hyunjin,” Changbin began, taking a step towards Hyunjin but Hyunjin just held out a hand. Changbin’s fingers twitched, his hand hovering over the hilt of the sword.

“It’s okay,” he said. It wasn’t okay.

The creature crouched down, tilting its head at Hyunjin’s odd behavior. It crept closer to him, and Chan could feel the buzzing energy in the air. This was nowhere near okay.

“Kin?” Hyunjin said again, taking a step towards the creature.

That caused it to move. It let out a roar, the walls shaking as it jumped towards Hyunjin, claws extended and ready to swipe at him.

Felix let out a cry as Changbin drew his sword.

“DON’T HURT HIM!” Chan yelled as Changbin forced himself between Hyunjin and the creature. It let out a shrieking sound, sounding something like a mix of a roar and a wail. “MINHO!” Chan called out, attempting to draw the creature’s attention away from his companions.

The use of its name seemed to have caught the creature’s attention. If huffed at Changbin before it turned around, creeping towards Chan. Chan held up his hands, as if he was showing the creature that he was harmless.

“We’re not here to hurt you,” Chan said.

The creature only growled at him, the sound echoing all around them. Chan took a step backwards as it got closer to him, his body tensing. He could tell his companions were getting tense too, but he held up a hand to stop them. If they acted now, it would only make things worse. He attempted to reach out to the creature, to Minho, but this time through the hive mind.

_Kin._

The creature paused, tilting its head like its was some kind of domestic pet and not a giant monster.

_Kin._

It let out a purring sound, clearly responsive to Chan. Chan glanced over to Felix.

_Safe. Won’t hurt you._

The creature let out another rumbling sound, clearly displeased.

_Why you here?_

_For you. Felix-_

Chan wasn’t allowed to finish his message. He could only mention the other blood hunter’s names before the creature wailed again. It rose up on two legs, its form stretching bigger as it absorbed the eyes in the shadows into its own form. It thrashed around, and then all of its eyes locked on Chan.

You threaten him.

Chan didn’t have time to respond before the creature brought down a large, clawed hand into the stone. Chan just narrowly managed to avoid it, his heart leaping in his chest as he realized how close he had been to have been crushed by the monster.

“STAY BACK!” he yelled as he saw Jisung and Seungmin draw their swords.

The creature wailed, returning to stand on four legs. It screeched at Chan, opening its jaws wide.

And then, faster than Chan could comprehend, Felix was standing in front of him, shielding him from the creature.

“Minho,” Felix said, his voice wavering ever so slightly. The creature halted, freezing in place as it seemed to recognize Felix. “I know you’re in there,” he whispered. “You’re not like this. You’re strong, and you can overcome it again.”

He reached out a hand.

The creature ducked its head, nuzzling into Felix’s touch.

Chan could only watch the scene in front of him. Never had he seen a blood hunter lose the control, but he could only pray that he wouldn’t end up with this little control.

“I know it’s bad, and giving up might be easier,” Felix continued, cradling the creature’s face in his hands. “You cannot leave me.”

Felix’s voice was gradually becoming quieter and soon Chan couldn’t hear him at all, even with his enhanced hearing. He took a deep breath, exhaling quietly as he moved slowly. The creature didn’t seem to mind the others anymore, all its attention was focused on Felix. Chan moved to stand beside Jisung, who immediately grabbed onto Chan’s hand and held on like his life depended on it.

“Don’t ever do that again,” he hissed as he leaned closer to Chan.

“Do what?”

“Put yourself in front of a monster and then tell us to stand back.”

Chan smiled sheepishly. “Sorry.”

Jisung grumbled something but turned his attention back to Felix. So did Chan.

Felix was leaning his forehead against the creatures, his lips moving as he mumbled soft words only for Minho to hear. And as he talked, the creature’s form began to change. At first the eyes all closed, fading into the retreating shadows. The form of the creature returned to humanoid form. And then the human features of a handsome man began to show through the shadow form of the creature.

“Felix,” he breathed, his voice raspy and thick with tears. He brushed a hand over the gash on Felix’s chest, fingers still elongated and clawed. “I hurt you.”

“You didn’t mean to,” Felix whispered. “It’s o—“

“It’s not okay,” Minho snapped, causing Felix to flinch. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, taking Felix’s face in his now human hands. “I promised to protect you, and yet I was the one who hurt you.”

“Just hold me,” Felix murmured.

And Minho did.

Chan glanced to his companions as the two embraced. “We should give them some space,” he whispered and the others nodded in agreement. They all moved away from the cave and back into the tunnels. As Chan gave the Demon Prince and the Prince of Monsters a last glance he couldn’t help the hurt he felt for them.

That’s when he vowed to himself that they would never be hurt ever again.

  
  
  


  
  
  


Felix and Minho were different. All of them were different, of course, based on how their powers had been acquired. Chan and Changbin had it from the eye, a constant reminder but it left them with much control of their own. Hyunjin had a hand of one, which stripped him of much of his humanity, yet it never took control from him. Jisung, Seungmin and Jeongin were constantly in contact with their monster sides, as the blood ran through their veins, which caused their monstrous sides to come out at times of intense emotions.

But Felix and Minho had both, at different times, consumed the heart of monsters. Sometimes they lost control. Sometimes, Felix and Minho completely faded away. It hurt Chan every time, to see them vanish and be replaced with something else. Sometimes they knew that they were fading, but other times they were taken by surprise.

About two years into their companionship, Felix had entered Chan’s room and pressed a dagger into his hand. It was the same dagger he had held in his hands when Chan had first met him.

“I want you to promise me something,” he had said, his tone serious. “And I really need you to promise.”

Chan frowned. “I have to know what I promise before I can say for sure.”

“This is for the safety of everyone,” Felix insisted, closing Chan’s fingers around the dagger. He took a deep breath. “If I… If I lose control and you can’t get to me, I need you to kill me.”

“Felix—“

“No, don’t try to talk your way out of this,” Felix said, his gaze hardening. “If you can’t reach me, if my body becomes a true monster, I need you to kill me.”

“Minho will never allow that,” Chan protested.

“Which is why I’m asking you,” Felix said, holding onto Chan’s hand like his life depended on it. “I know you will make the right decision.”

“I cannot kill you,” Chan whispered, his grasp of the dagger growing weak and he let it clatter to the floor. He took Felix’s face in his hands, pressing their foreheads together. “I will not kill you.”

“What you have to kill isn’t me,” Felix murmured, his voice weak. “If you cannot reach me, I am dead and something else is inhabiting my body.” He took a deep breath. “You must kill it when that happens.”

When. Not if. Chan’s chest tightened. Deep down, he knew that Felix was right.

“Promise me,” Felix pushed.

With tears in his eyes and his voice thick, Chan replied. “I promise.”

  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  


Chan leans back on his hands, allowing the sun to wash over him and he closes his eyes for a moment. He can hear the others around the house, and their presence is calming. All eight of them are in the same place, and that brought Chan peace.

Hyunjin, Jisung and Jeongin had returned yesterday from another mission, a bit beaten up but all three in one piece.

Someone sits down beside him, but Chan doesn’t open his eyes to see who it is.

“Look at you,” Minho’s voice comes, and that’s when Chan cracks an eye open. “You look like you’re just enjoying life.”

“I am,” Chan replies with a smile on his face. “What’s there’s not to enjoy about it?” he asks, tilting his head. Then he laughs. “Wait, don’t answer that.”

“I have a list of reasons,” Minho says with an easy smile.

Chan lets his eyes linger on Minho’s face for a moment. Much like Hyunjin, due to the heavy influence of his monster blood, the green in Minho’s eyes never left him. To Chan that was beautiful, but he knew that to everyone outside their small group, it was terrifying and should be avoided at all cost. His reputation was another factor that only added to the fear he was met with. But Chan knew better.

As the years had passed, Minho and Felix both gained more and more control over their monster sides. Years had passed since Chan had made his promise to Felix; a damned promise he was happy that he would probably never fulfil.

“But I see what you’re trying to say,” Minho continues, resting his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands as he observes the rest of their companions.

Chan joins him, turning his attention to the field below their shared house.

For a moment Chan forgets that they’re all technically monsters. The scene in front of him is so calm and peaceful. The sun is setting, golden light hitting everything below. The crops are tall on the fields around them, the grass is luscious and bright green. Everyone is here, together and smiling.

Chan has lived for a very long time, and through all his years he has seen things he cannot speak about. He has memories that have scarred his very soul, and sometimes he cannot sleep as nightmares are tearing into his being. He spent so many years alone, but so many more years with these people; with his kin.

He knew that nothing was certain in this life. No one knew much about them. Would they eventually die from old age? Would they pass when the monsters finally disappeared? Maybe one day they would all simply cease to exist.

At some point in his life, before he met anyone, Chan had feared that uncertainty.

But now, he felt at peace with it. For whatever happened, he knew that he would be surrounded by those who loved him; his kin. He would never face anything alone ever again, for he was bonded with seven other souls. When outsiders asked what they were to him, he sometimes struggled to find the right words. How could he describe their relationship in simple terms.

Eventually he settled for one word.

Family.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This was never supposed to be this long.. I don't know what happened orz it was supposed to be short n nice but everyone got way too much backstory orz send help pls
> 
> aNYWAY. this is for gioooooo i hope u like it gio uwu <3
> 
> and I hope everyone else also enjoyed our brainchild uwu <3 thank u for reading!


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